Essence Festival organizers have taken responsibility for a concert that ran so far behind schedule that Lauryn Hill wound up taking the stage at around 2:30 in the morning.
Delays completely derailed the opening day of the 31st annual event, which returned to the Superdome in New Orleans this past weekend. According to Nola.com, opening night Friday, July 4, featured a whopping eight acts, with Hill joining the lineup just two days before the concert. As the show got underway, it was quickly beset by scheduling issues that only got worse as the night wore on.
GloRilla, the fourth act to play, finished her set 45 minutes after the Isley Brothers were originally set to take the stage. Maxwell, who was supposed to start his performance at 11:15 p.m., took the stage at 12:55 a.m.
When Hill arrived on stage at 2:31 a.m., most of the Superdome was empty. Still, the Fugees legend found ways to make the most of a strange situation, chatting with the fans who stuck around and even taking some left-field requests, like “I Gotta Find Peace of Mind” and “Tell Him.” Her set finished, officially, at 3:37 a.m.
While Hill has a history of showing up late to concerts, Essence Fest organizers insisted the Friday night/Saturday morning debacle was in no way her fault. “She arrived on schedule, stepped on that stage, and delivered the kind of performance only a legend can,” the festival wrote on Instagram.
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Organizers continued: “The delay? Not hers. We will take that. The moment? One for the books. The legacy? Still unmatched. Put some respect on her name. Keep the takes, but keep her out of them. All love and deep profound admiration for Ms. Lauryn Hill.”
By all accounts, nights two and three of Essence Fest ran a bit more smoothly. Saturday’s show, for instance, saw performances from Davido, Buju Banton, Erykah Badu, and Jill Scott, with the latter closing out the night at the slightly more reasonable hour of 1:30 a.m.
